Simultaneous Twitching
by Guaua
Summary: Over a month in the human world has gone by, and new, more challenging obstacles seem to be messing with Jareth and his feelings. A sequel to "Something Tangible" and the second official story in the newly conceptualized "ST" series. R/R
1. Prologue

A/N: Hahahah! I TOLD you I'd be back. So here's the first of many pretty chapters that I have in store for you. PRAISE ME!

This is the sequel to "Something Tangible". It is set 1 month in our dear Sarah's future, and about three and a quarter for our dear Goblin King. Well, technically speaking, the NEXT chapter is set in that time. This is a little additive in between.

I'm sorry this took so long. Would you believe that I was without the computer for this long? No? How about that King Jareth himself whisked me away to live in his castle and be his official counselor to listen to him whine and cry about Sarah? Awwww, but that would be a _really_ awesome reason why, wouldn't it?

Okay, the truth is, I had writers block, in the process of being in my first year of college, _and_ I wasn't willing to post anything until I had this, and two chapters after were completed so I had more to give if I still couldn't write anything. So it's ready now, as are two more chapters.

Little warning and reminder: You know how long and tedious _real_ relationships are? Where you don't know if they like you back, and maybe you'll get over it and move on and then things get fuddled up and feelings get messed up again? And they're so long and confusing that some people wonder whether they should bother trying to have a relationship at all? Yeah, THAT is how I'm writing this. I told you before that this would eventually lead to a romance. What you need to understand is, that when I say 'eventually', I mean it. I really, truly, to the pit of my soul, mean it. So if you're looking for something quick and easy where Jareth foes "OMFG MARRY ME AND HAVE MY BALLS" and Sarah goes "OMGWTFBBQ OKAY" THIS STORY IS NOT FOR YOU. Go read some random fluff-piece where they has babyz and makez da boom boom. If you are looking for something that may take chapters and countless side-pieces to create one full thought that eventually leads to a romance, continue, and I hope you enjoy.

And if you do go ahead and read this, and enjoy it, then please do review it. I don't _just_ love review. I ADORE THEM. I've made a shrine of them on my college residence door, so that every time I leave, I think of you. Lawls, just kidding. But seriously folks, REVIEWS.

* * *

Simultaneous Twitching

Prologue

It was morning. The sun had just peeked over the horizon, its first rays casting a warm light through the tower window. The strong light caused Jareth's attention to be torn from the book he had been reading in the dawns glow. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, only just realizing how late, or was it _how early_; he had been up that night. Then again, this would be the fourth night in a _row_ he had done so. _Blast his inability to read anything fast!_

He looked at the book that was held gently in his hand. _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ looked back up at him, practically begging to be read some more. It was very rare that _any_ books from the otherworld came to his kingdom. It was even _rarer_ that one would make it past the junkyard. What Jareth held in his hands was one of very few that he owned, but, unlike the rest of his meager collection, which had belonged to his mother, this one had been a desperate attempt by a young girl to barter back a her twin brother.

However, out of all the books he owned, expect possibly the one his mother wrote, this was the first that he had hardly been able to put down since the time he was given it.

He was _so close_ to the end of the chapter… just a _few more pages…_

There was a crash outside of the tower, and Jareth mentally groaned.

The book was closed carefully and placed on a small, dusty table that was near his bed, and he got up. There would be much to do today. There was always _something_ to do, when you were king. He would just have to do it without sleep this time.

And maybe he would have to forgo more sleep tonight so that he could finish the book… At least he knew he _would_ be able to return to it. _No_ Goblin was _stupid_ enough to enter Jareth's room.

-

It was nearly 13 o'clock. Jareth walked into the tower's door, twice, before remembering to open it to walk through. In doing so he also remembered to pluck the chicken that had apparently made a nest in his hair, and boot it down, or was it up, a set of stairs.

Out of all the days, all the _years_ he had been king; the goblins _had _to pick _today_ to _really_ muck up things, didn't they? He groaned inwardly. 'Muck' really was the appropriate word… but he really couldn't blame the goblins. They hated the Bog of Eternal Stench more then _he_ did. How could _any_ of them known that placing a box of wished away laundry detergent in the bog would cause it to _flood_?

At least he had managed to keep dry… however, being as exhausted as he was, he had been little help to the frantic minions that were trying to create blockades. If anything, he had been a hindrance. The few goblins with some semblance of _brains_ were _quite _aware of how tired he was, and were too busy making sure he didn't do something stupid like fly into the bog, instead of assigning duties to the, well, _stupider ones._

He was tired. His thoughts easily drifted to the last time he had been little help to the chaos. 'Hardships unnumbered'? Hah! She should have seen the place now. It was twice the mess it had been before, and _she_ had only been there a day. _She_ hadn't been around the goblins since childhood. _She_ just had to go and complain about _everything_ though, because she was such a _spoilt brat._

He stopped himself with the realization that he was complaining. About Sarah, no less. Damn, he really _was_ tired. There was no other explanation as to why he would _think_ about her when they had already had their closure moment… if you could _call_ that closure. He didn't know if it was just him, but it seemed that closure wasn't _supposed_ to end in the middle of the conversation that would usually _lead_ to it.

He didn't even think about finishing the book. The rest of chapter ten would just have to wait. Because before Jareth even made it to his bed, he had fallen asleep on the floor.

Well, so much for THAT idea.

* * *

A/N: I notice my "first chapters" of the ST series seem to have little or no words spoken in them. Yes, ST. Something Tangible and this... so far… My friend was all like "Each story should start with ST because it's cool." I think it's dorky, but whatever. XD

Review me and maybe you'll get more sooner. Like I said earlier, I have a chunk written out ahead of time because I'm cool like that.

PS: Still working on Mirror Focus. It's harder then I thought to create a clearly focused story from beginning to end, but I'm getting there.


	2. Chapter One: A Minor Obstacle

A/N: Well I CERTAINLY didn't expect to take this long to post the next chapter. Sorry. I sort of… lost track of time. This is all I'm going to say, here's the chapter, I hope I didn't make it sound too cliché. I really tried to add reasoning behind occurances…

Also, as to the character of Jareth and Sarah, for Sarah, remember that this _is_ several years into the future. Of course her character is going to change. But I don't know about Jareth's character. I do _try_ to keep him in character, but sometimes he just wants to act on a tangent and leaves me crying over my story because he won't do what I want him to.

Oh, and one more thing, I would appreciate any comments or critiques on how to fix any problems I have (many of you were for example gracious enough to review about Sarah's sudden character change at the end of the last part of the story, and let me remind you, there is a reason.)

I don't own Labyrinth. If I did, then maybe Jareth would listen to my telling him to ACT IN CHARACTER! -slams head on desk-

* * *

Chapter One: A Minor Obstacle

A week later, Jareth felt more out of place then he had in almost a century. He always did when he was in the human world disguising himself as one of _them_ instead of the bird form he had taken such a liking to… and even then, there were usually not _nearly_ this many people!

The library was quite packed. Every direction one could think to look, there was at least one person reading, or talking, or being shushed by a local librarian. Even when he tried looking up, it only led to staring at the humans on the second floor. Jareth was used to having to deal with a small handful of humans at a time. Dealing with this many was an entirely new concept… and from what he could tell, he greatly disliked it.

He had also never set foot in a library before. Why would he? It took him an entire month to read one book when he was spending every waking moment he could spare reading it. There was no possible way he could survive if all he did other then govern was read. If Jareth came here on a regular occasion, the kingdom would probably cease to exist while he was sleeping off reading a book for a week straight.

Through the chaos, he had managed to take note that the librarians all wore blue vests with the library's name on them. He made a mental checklist. All he had to do was find one that wasn't already busy with someone else, ask them where the sequel to _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland _was, and then steal it when no one was looking. Simple, right?

Maybe not as much as he would hope; things never were as easy as he believed when he created a plan. Despite that, however, he had to get the book before someone else had the chance, even if he didn't actually _read_ it until he got things prioritized in the goblin's realm.

He finally noticed a librarian, from the looks of things female, facing her back toward him as she placed several books from a cart back into their bookshelves. His overpowering personality kicked in as he strode up behind her with all the elegance of a panther.

"Excuse me," he purred just behind the female's ear, "I was wondering if…" His voice trailed off as the girl turned to meet his gaze, familiar mint-green eyes staring mere inches from his own. He paused. Where had he seen those eyes? They reminded him of… wait…

Jareth stumbled backwards quite gracelessly and fell onto his ass, staring up at a wide-eyed, quite red in the face, Sarah Williams. Shit.

Sarah looked as surprised as he did, frozen in place as she stared at him in disbelief, her hand in a death grip around the book she had been about to reshelf.

"You cut your hair." He stated absent-mindedly. Probably one of the reasons he hadn't recognized her T first. Her brunette hair was shoulder-length, no longer sweeping down to her mid-back as it had been three and a half months ago. It was… different, to say the least.

"_You," _her brows moved from their shock into a glare.

Jareth couldn't help himself; he rolled his eyes, looking up at her awkwardly from the floor. "Is that going to be the first word you utter in all of our meetings?" Then again, were all their first meetings going to end up with him sprawled out on the floor?

"What are you doing here? I thought I told you to leave me alone." Sarah was struggling to keep her voice low enough that they didn't draw too much attention. However, she was failing miserably. One of her coworkers, a blond that Jareth had previously noticed flirting with an older male, peeked her head around a corner.

"Sarah, are you alright?" The blond looked from her down to Jareth, her expression failing to hide the vague interest in him, or was it his pants? He cringed. He'd experienced that expression before by some of the older humans he had encountered in his own kingdom. It never turned out well for him, and more often then not, for either of them.

Sarah shut up, staring at Jareth with a thin frown for a few moments, before looking over at the girl, plastering a fake smile over face.

"Sorry, Cindy. Can you tell Tim that I need to go on my lunch now? It appears… _something's_ come up."

"Uh, sure?" Cindy blinked, looking away from Jareth to pay attention to her friend again. "What's the problem?"

"I… need to have a word with my… _friend… _here…" Sarah pointed down at Jareth with a slight growl in her voice. Both girls stared down at the Goblin King, though only, of course, one of them knew who he was. The other one only knew that she found him rather attractive. Jareth wondered which was worse, and decided that he would much rather face Sarah's ill-placed wrath then an overly sex-crazed female any day.

Sarah spoke up, breaking the silence that had accumulated and pulling Jareth's attention back to her and away from the blond. "You. Outside. Now. We need to talk." Without taking a backwards glance to see if he would follow, Sarah started walking away, still holding the book as though her life depended upon it, and leaving him alone with Cindy.

Jareth didn't need to be told twice. Dealing with Sarah seemed easier then dealing with Cindy, even if it had been first impressions for _both _of them, and not just the blond. He picked himself off the ground and followed her, only peering back for long enough to know that Sarah was probably making a large mistake in the way she had just worded things to the other girl.

-

Sarah slowed to a stop once they had reached an unpopulated alley next to the building. It was the sort of location that workers went in order to take smoke breaks, the sidewalk to the main doors several meters away. Jareth noticed the littering of cigarette stubs with a disgusted cringe. He also knew that if Sarah ever did anything as stupid as take in part in that particularly disgusting human custom he would have to cast a spell so that he could magically steal any cigarette that she dared to put to her tender lips. He would not allow Sarah Williams to slowly poison herself; he would rather sink the rotten cancer sticks into the bog of eternal stench.

Sarah took a deep breath; it broke Jareth's train of thought as he watched her chest rise and fall, almost mesmerized. Then she turned around and broke that spell with the violent piercing gaze of her eyes.

"Why are you following me?"

Jareth stepped back, indignant, "You told me to, or do have you gained the _attention span_ of a child now to go with that whiny attitude of yours?"

"That's not," Sarah stopped and took another deep breath, although this time Jareth was not prey to her feminine wiles. "You weren't supposed to come back, this is my job. Coming here is stalking, and a criminal offense."

"Don't flatter yourself, it's neither becoming nor accurate. I am merely here to utilize the library facilities in retrieving a book. I was not aware you were employed by this library, or I _would_ have chosen another one."

."Oh the _great Goblin King_ needs to come to a humble library to receive something as inconsequential as a **book**…" Sarah's voice rang with innocence until the last syllable which changed to a mocking, almost retarded, distaste.

…Inconsequential..? _INQONSEQUENTIAL?!_

Now Sarah stepped back, it was hard to believe it, but even Jareth couldn't hide the wounded pride behind the fury of his eyes. Jareth stepped close, his voice hushed as he glowered over her. "Did you _really_ expect there to be a bountiful supply of books in my kingdom..? I suppose I give you too much credit. I'd mistaken you for someone _intelligent_ enough to realize that _books_ don't survive very well around goblins. Indeed, the majority of them do not read, and therefore see books as little more than _kindling_. If you had used your rather exceptional brain _for a minute_ instead of tuning out your _good sense_ to insult a man with more power than a pitiful human librarian could possibly hope to achieve, you _may_ have realized that I do not, in fact, have a large supply of books at my disposal. _Moreover_ you might have noticed that I am a man of my word and have never lied to you, even about the _rather sensitive_ matter that caused our last confrontation. And although your fiery attitude is _frustratingly _attractive, it is not the sort of quality you want to _flippantly_ display to potentially dangerous people."

Looking back, this reaction on Jareth's part could have caused several possibly hazardous outcomes. The shock and even terror that had flittered through her mint green eyes were the indicators of potential reactions. She might have been driven away in horror, leaving the Goblin King to forever wallow in messing up everything in relations to Sarah Williams, again. She might have conquered her momentary terror to beat the Goblin King to a bloody pulp, before wishing him away to fate without her. She might have continued the downward spiral of insults and hatred and broken through what little temper Jareth had left… This was a particularly frightening outcome because aside from Sarah being dead, Jareth would have been the cause, an action he would never be able to forgive himself for. However, although it was the least likely of reactions, her terror may have dissolved into a moment of vulnerability where Jareth could have swept her off her feet and whisked her away to what could have been a happy ending for them both. None of these, in fact, happened.

What really happened, between those doe-like green eyes and hardened mismatched blue, was an interruption.

"Icarus!" This was the interruption, and it came from a rather unlikely source; looking down the alley from the sidewalk was a little girl in a wheelchair staring at them with bright eyes.

"Kayla!" Sarah was pulled from her momentary state of shock. She dashed over to the young girl. "I'll be heading in again in a couple minutes, you go ahead," Sarah tried ushering away innocent ears with a plastered on smile.

"But I wanted to talk to Icarus," Kayla looked sadly up at Sarah, blue eyes batting, before peering her head behind Sarah, at Jareth.

"Icarus," Sarah twitched awkwardly. Jareth could only assume what sort of mythological knowledge she may have been processing as her head turned ever so slowly towards himself standing behind her. He gave her a knowing smile before turning his attention to the young girl.

"Hello Kayla," he said calmly, deliberately ignoring Sarah's unnerved backing away as he walked up to the wheelchair. Jareth bent down onto one knee and took Kayla's hands in his own gloved ones. "It's a sheer delight to see you again."

He should have expected it. He had come to the same library that the book had been purchased from. There would have been a chance that the girl who had traded away her most treasured possession would still live in the area and frequent said library. It was then only natural to consider that someone who exhibited such a love for books and knowledge, even while trying to rescue her brother from a kingdom as chaotic as his own, would, in fact, come to said library on a regular basis. Jareth beamed down at Kayla as though, suddenly, despite minutes ago being in the most conflicting mind-set, everything was right in the world.

He also should have expected the book.

"You _lecherous_ pedophile!" Jareth heard Sarah screaming behind him. That was the last thing Jareth could recall clearly before being in pain.

* * *

A/N: So, what do you think so far??? I hope I'm staying in character to what I wrote in the previous chapter. For those of you who are wondering who the heck Kayla is, I can assure you I'll clear up a few things, but really, it's a side-story.


	3. Chapter Two: Differences in Oppinion

A/N: I KNOW everyone who is still interested in this story is absolutely despise me for writing this chapter. I'm scared to death of all the hate that I'm going to receive in your reviews, and yet, I still wrote and posted it… Why? Because, it is absolutely _vital_ to the storyline!

I also only just realized that I had this as K+ (or were my eyes mistaken because it's 3 AM?) I'd rather have it at T, just because of some of the language, and how I write.

I do hope that at least _some_ questions are answered here. I did try not to bring in too many questions. Actually, the next few chapters should, hopefully, answer several. Not all, but enough.

I refuse to say anything more in this A/N though, I'm terrified that if I do I'll give away something important in desperation for wanting to explain why and how this will become a romance... so just read it, and hate me if you must.

* * *

Chapter Two: Differences in Opinion

"_You lecherous pedophile!" Sarah screamed. That was the last thing Jareth could recall clearly before being in pain. _

The book that had moments before been firmly in the hand of Sarah Williams was now on the sidewalk. The book was on the sidewalk because it had just ricocheted off the head of a no longer amused Goblin King.

"Ow," Jareth said blankly. He released Kayla's hands to reach over and pick up the book that had possibly given him a mild concussion. _The Complete Works of Gilbert and Sullivan,_ and a hardcover copy at that... It wasn't the book he was looking for, of course, that would have been too convenient. Being _The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll _would have been too easy, not to mention too clichéd, and probably hurt less. Jareth looked over at Sarah, then at the book again. "Ow."

Jareth stood up slowly and handed the large book to Sarah. "Next time you intend on hurling projectiles at me, _Miss Williams_, please consider who might get hit if you miss…" He spoke rather dispassionately, especially considering this was Sarah he was speaking to. "I would also appreciate if you wouldn't jump to such presumptuous accusations… My intentions with the girl are _hardly _that distorted…" With this said his attention was turned back towards Kayla, who had been watching the display with her mouth agape.

"Now Kayla," the girl's mouth snapped shut and her attention hooked onto Jareth as he stooped down next to her again, virtually ignoring Sarah. Well, at least _some _people showed him the respect a Goblin King deserved. He smiled at her. You must tell me how you've been, my dear."

Kayla easily cast aside what was just happened, because almost instantly she was talking at such a fast pace he could hardly keep up. "Well, I started grade four just recently. We're studying Greek mythology," Kayla beamed. "Danny says the teacher has a really big nose, but I like the teacher so whenever Danny brings it up I tell him his is bigger. My friend Becca thinks the teacher is cute, and makes funny faces whenever me and Danny are talking about him." Here Jareth chuckled, which seemed to boost the talking spree that Kayla seemed to be going on. "And Becca invited me and Stephie to her slumber party. We're going to have a fashion show to show off our Halloween costumes. Stephie is going to be a princess. Becca is going as a kitty. I was going to go as a unicorn, but Danny refused to go as the butt, so I decided to go as a fairy instead, not the biting kind though. I kept telling Danny to be a unicorn with me but he won't go as anything but a _goblin_!"

Here Jareth didn't just chuckle; he laughed, flat out laughed, and Kayla joined in.

Meanwhile not as ignored as Jareth made her out to be, Sarah stared at the pair, dumbfounded with the book limp in her arms. If Jareth were making a dictionary, he would that image of her next to confusion. Then again if he were making a dictionary, Sarah's image would accompany most descriptions. Confusion was just an emotion that was particularly poignant when it came to thoughts about Sarah Williams.

"What is going on?" Sarah said, her confusion finally reaching vocal comprehension. "How do you know Kayla?" She tried demanding of Jareth, and he, in turn, ignored her. "What are you planning this time?" The pair were still laughing, Sarah left out of the loop.

The laughter finally subsided, but instead of addressing Sarah's confusion Jareth continued his conversation with Kayla, chuckling. "Well I suppose I should have kept him then." Kayla started laughing again, as any ten-year-old would, and Jareth continued to laugh quietly.

"This is impossibly frustrating!" Sarah yelled to the sky, tossing _The Complete Works of Gilbert and Sullivan _to the pavement. "I should be the one who understands what's going on, but you're not even paying attention to me! It's not fair!"

Jareth's laughter stopped, and was instead replaced with a devilish smile. He turned his head to look at Sarah, cocking an eyebrow. "My, my Sarah, I haven't heard _that_ in a while..." Sarah gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth, no doubt swearing internally for returning to her childish mantra. "Though I must say it is rather hypocritical considering the tantrum you just threw over the fact that I _was_ paying attention to you."

Kayla cast a sidelong glance at Sarah and pulled Jareth in a bit closer before whispering in his ear, "So how do you know the librarian?"

It was true that Kayla was keeping their inside jokes to a minimum. And considering that both were runners the conversation would probably be a benefit for Kayla to possess that knowledge. "You could say she is my Theseus," Jareth said coyly as he glanced back at Sarah again. He was referring, of course, to the same Greek myth that the girl had gotten that _irksome_ nickname for him from. He didn't really believe himself to be foolish enough to fly too close to the sun, and certainly could have found a far safer way out of his labyrinth at any given time… but still, it had been rather creative.

Keeping Sarah out of the loop as much as possible was rather exhilarating... It was a guilty pleasure to watch her failing to put two and two together, though almost anything was a guilty pleasure in Sarah's presence. He was also a man of principle, and one of his principles was that people should learn to use their brains, which seemed to be a principle Sarah refused to follow in his presence.

Kayla's eyes went wide, and her eyes went back and forth between Jareth and Sarah several times. Eventually, she joined Jareth in casting a coy glance back at Sarah, who was not at all amused. She seemed to have given up entirely on trying to figure out what was going on, and had simply leaned against the library's wall and watched the two talk, pouting.

After another few moments, Kayla's smile lost it's glamour as she looked over at Jareth again, asking "So what are you doing at the library?"

Now Jareth beamed at her. He had almost forgotten why he was here in the first place with all the chaos that had just taken place. "Well my dear, I am here to procure a book… well, more specifically, the sequel to the book you left in my possession the last time we met."

"Bit by the reading bug," Kayla said in a singsong way, but then she tilted her head to the side. "Or in your case would it be a kind of fairy?"

Jareth shuddered. "For the sake of my kingdom we shall hope it is a bug, because if it is the work of fairies I shall never be rid of it." Sarah seemed to have perked up from the wall. She must have been starting to piece together what little information she had now that she wasn't trying so hard… Well it had certainly taken long enough... Jareth ignored her, and instead of commenting, dug through his jacket and pulled out the worn copy of _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_. He smiled at Kayla gently, "I'll be giving this back now."

Kayla's eyes widened as she stared at the book, and then at Jareth, with a skeptical expression. "Jareth, I traded it to you for Danny. I don't want to go back on our deal."

Jareth chuckled. "Firstly, anyone who actually _wants_ to be a goblin is not the sort of riff raff I want to have to deal with for the rest of my life... Secondly if I am in possession of _two_ books that I greatly desire to read, then I will logically have to put one down… And since jeopardizing a library book is no longer an option," he glanced over at Sarah, who was staring at the two with her mouth agape, and then glanced back at the child, "I shall be giving this book to you for safe keeping. Consider yourself its guardian," he grinned at her, "although I have absolutely no intention of coming back to take it away." His speech finished, Jareth placed the book into Kayla's lap with a fond smile.

Kayla looked like she was about to say something else, when the conversation was cut off by Sarah's mortified words. "She got her brother back for a book?!"

The fond smile became a menacing grin as Jareth turned around to face the woman who had finally figured things out. She also looked to be _quite _irate… "Believe it or not, my dear, you're not the only child who has ever wished away a sibling…"

"But a book? A _book _of all things!?"

It was probably a good thing that the road appeared to be decently empty, otherwise the small group would probably be drawing a lot of attention to themselves… Jareth raised an eyebrow at her. Perhaps irate was too gentle of a word. No, Sarah looked to be seething with anger. Over what? The fact that he had _wanted_ to let Kayla get her brother back? "Your point being..?"

Sarah was no longer up against the wall. She was standing; looking down at him with anger as she virtually ignored the fact that Kayla was still here. "I go through the Labyrinth, I beat your puzzles and your twisted logic. I finally get my brother back after _thirteen hours_ of getting my lipstick signs mixed up, my butt grabbed by messed up 'helping hands', bribing a dwarf, getting chased down dirty tunnels by spinning blades of death, getting chased by body part throwing monsters, going through the bog of eternal stench, getting drugged by an egotistical maniac who thinks the way to a girl's heart is through spiked peaches, trekking through a garbage dump, having a giant robot try to decapitate me, and running through some freaky stairwell to finally having a complete prick ramble on and on about how much I should want his balls! And she trades you a book?!"

There was silence for several moments. Kayla was clinging to her book, looking up with a frightened glance at Sarah. Jareth was staring vacantly past her, trying not to count the many ways he could have corrected her statements. Finally, his eyes fixated on Sarah again, and he stated quietly, "She couldn't have completed my Labyrinth otherwise,"

His chest hurt, but the hurtful words had probably needed to get out. Of course Sarah had probably been holding it in since their first meeting. What else could she have done? There would have been no one to talk to about her problems without her sounding mad as a hatter… But now she had been given the chance, to the man who she seemed to blame for everything that had gone wrong in her life… Maybe now she could grow up and move on with her existence. However, he would have no choice but to do the same.

"Kayla, would you help me find the sequel to your charming book?" Jareth asked the small child, but his eyes were still fixed rather sadly upon Sarah, who now apparently found the ground in front extremely interesting, considering she wouldn't look anywhere else.

"Goblin King," Jareth heard Kayla from behind him and could make out the shuddering of the wheelchair. He turned to her to find that she had attempted to pull herself to her feet with that resolute determination of hers, and was now holding herself steady by clinging to the wheelchairs arms. "Thank you for giving me the book back…" Once all this was said, Kayla reached out an arm for the hug that Jareth readily accepted, if for no other reason then to make certain she didn't lose her balance.

Once the child had relaxed her embrace, Jareth aided her back into her wheelchair. Turning back, however, Sarah was gone, as was the book that had been horribly mistreated during the emotional scene.

Jareth continued to stare at the place Sarah had been standing, her hateful rant repeating through his head continuously. He knew that he had never made things very easy for the girl, he often preferred not to if he thought the runners could stand up to his challenges, and, _God_ forbid, _learn _from them. He had made things difficult, from taking several hours _off_ of her time to sending his infantry after her… but he had also sent Hoggle to help her in the first place, and his _drugged peach_ (magic was most certainly _not_ drugging!) had carried her a fair distance closer to the castle… But most importantly he had not rambled on about his balls; if that was all he wanted then someone as twitter-brained as Cindy certainly would have sufficed. All he wanted was-

Kayla's hand wrapped around the Goblin King's, interrupting his chain of thought "Let's go get you that copy of _Through the Looking Glass. _You can use my library card, and visit me and Danny again when you return it."

-

The tower felt emptier then it had when he had left. The room was void of signs of anyone except himself entering it in a very long time. He should have been used to this feeling by now, but the truth of the matter was, he wasn't. He never was.

He pulled the small chest out from underneath the desk, opening it. Lancelot was still there, looking up at him in the same position he had left him in three months prior. He pulled the small bear out and looked at it, heaving a sigh.

"At least I've been given actual closure this time... Nothing left but memories now." His voice cracked a little, causing him to realize that was the first time he had spoken since Sarah left. No wonder Kayla had looked so awkward by the time he left. He sighed.

Jareth placed the newly acquired book on the table, along with the bear. Funny, only hours ago he couldn't wait another day to set his eyes on the new text, and now, it was just another book. Just another story. Just another thing to add to his meaningless existence.

What was a soldier without a family back home to protect? What was a knight without his damsel to rescue? What was a king without his queen?

No one. Just a lonely man fighting a lonely battle.

It didn't mean that he never had to think about her. She was a part of his memories, and would probably never go away. All of those emotions were real and did not need to be buried away in chests that were never opened. He did not need her to find his own happiness, because she was not his damsel nor his queen.

Perhaps, in his fixation with Sarah Williams, he had forgotten that there could always be someone else who was meant to 'turn his world.' Perhaps it really was time to move on.

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A/N: Please don't kill me. I swear, I know what I'm doing, or at least I _think_ I do. Anyhow, reviews, hateful or not, are still appreciated.


	4. Chapter Three: Unwanted Interaction

A/N: I have nothing of interest to say today. Sorry. I'll post the next chapter up after Christmas.

On the copyright side of things, I do not own the lines I have used in here from _Through the Looking Glass_ or _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_.

Enjoy the story, and tell me what you think. You know how it works.

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Chapter Three: Unwanted Interaction

_Ever drifting down the stream --  
Lingering in the golden gleam --  
Life, what is it but a dream? _

_THE END_

That was it. The last page of probably the last book he would read in a _very _long time. Jareth closed the book, smiling fondly down at the worn cover. It hadn't taken nearly as much effort to read this one as it had its predecessor; _apparently_ being in practice encouraged faster reading. Funny how that worked…

He glanced at one of the clocks that he had set on his wall. It had nearly been a month and a half for him, or so it appeared. That meant Kayla's two weeks would be ending soon… meaning he would have to pull himself together enough to pay the girl a visit.

He had wanted to spend the entire month moping around his tower, virtually ignoring anything that was going on in his kingdom… He had actually ignored a child's wish the first few days into his depressive moping… but then, a week later, when the same child wished again, he had just taken the younger sister without giving the child any sort of a second chance to save her. It wasn't until a few days later, when the girl-turned-goblin passed by him while trying to catch a runaway chicken, that he had realized the problems that he was creating through his actions.

So for the first month, instead of moping and feeling sorry for himself, he had simply governed the kingdom as much as he used to years ago, purposefully forgetting why he had been in such a state to begin with. He had even taken the liberty of creating a new occupation, so that now several goblins, Suddy (the girl) included, had been recently employed in breeding chickens.

It wasn't until he noticed Lancelot and the book on his table, after passing them by subconsciously for weeks, that he truly remembered anything that had happened, and by then, many of the emotions that surrounded the event had diminished. He was truly starting to get over her… that was when he was first able to pick up _Through the Looking Glass _and start reading it. And now it was finished, meaning he would have to return it… It was a good thing he knew where Kayla lived. He really didn't feel like visiting that library again – not just yet… Maybe never again.

-

Jareth glared up at the Library's name with a twisted sense of hate. This was the _fourth day _in a row that Kayla had not been at home when he attempted to visit, and was also the _last _chance he would probably have before the book would become late and Kayla's so-called 'perfect record' would be ruined. He had hoped that she wouldn't be here, but then, if she wasn't, then he had no possible idea where to find the girl…

Another problem he found was he was starting to find that it no longer seemed tedious every time he had to wear a more "human" disguise. This in itself was an indication that he was spending far too much time in the human world other then answering the few wishes that still occurred in this society. At the moment, he was walking around in a loose white sweater and a pair of denim jeans… which compared to what he was used to, felt completely uncomfortable (though in his mind, he still looked as attractive as ever).

He sighed heavily and entered the doors to the library cautiously, trying not to draw any attention to himself. The library was less packed then it had been the last time; there were less then a quarter as many people. He pulled the book out from his jacket. It had been nice enough of Kayla to borrow it for him, but _perhaps_ it also would have been a good idea for her to also explain how to return it… In any case, if she was in the library as often as she claimed to be, there was a high chance the girl was here now. He probably should have checked here the other three days as well, but he had sort of hoped that returning to the building would be a last resort.

As he walked through past the isles upon isles of books, peering in each one to check for Kayla, while at the same time trying not to run into Sarah, he almost failed to notice that, without intention, he had drawn some unwanted attention to himself. He was the Goblin King; he was so used to being able to observe things that he forgot to allow his mind to realize just what it was that he was noticing…

In this case, it thankfully only took him a few minutes to realize that _Cindy_ of all people was trailing behind him. He looked at her with a rather displeased expression, placing one of his hands on his hips and tilting his head. "Why are you following me?"

Cindy stood there and smiled, apparently oblivious to how little he liked her. "I was just wondering if you were looking for Sarah… you two are still together, aren't you..?" She walked up to him with a mock-innocent strut, glancing up at him timidly.

He actually considered telling her the truth; that they had never really been "together" to begin with. He considered explaining that Sarah didn't want him in her life, and that he had been... He considered the fact that _maybe_ talking to someone was the best action considering how, even now, when he had finally gotten most of his feelings of Sarah to diminish, he couldn't complete his own thoughts on the matter… Then he remembered who he was talking to and decided it was probably better for the girl to _not_ know that he was single. Even if there was a need for someone to help him get over Sarah, which there really wasn't, Cindy was most certainly _not_ on the top of his list… "Actually, I wasn't looking for her at the present. I was looking for-"

"Why wouldn't you be looking for Sarah?" Blast. What was it with humans and not allowing him to finish saying anything!? "Anyone who needs to have a _conversation_ with her that causes her _not_ come back to work that day must be _quite_ the _friend_, wink wink." Her timid smile turned into a rather knowing one, which considering how inappropriate her implications were, and for that matter how _wrong_ they were… Wait, Sarah what? She had actually left after all had been said and done? He had just assumed she had gone back to work after she had left… Had the girl gone home? Come to think of it, considering how upset they had both been, that probably made a lot more sense then-

His thoughts were cut off rather suddenly when the girl stepped _far_ too much into his personal space bubble, and was practically inches away from actually _touching_ him. He stepped backwards a little awkwardly and frowned down at her. No person he didn't like was _ever _permitted to be _near_ someone of his stature… He regained his composure and glowered at the girl. "Just _what_ are you trying to achieve at such a close proximity?"

Cindy didn't appear phased in the slightest. She flicked her hair back and battered her eyes, while Jareth cringed in disgust. "I was simply trying to figure out what initially drew Sarah to you. I mean, she's not exactly the kind of girl who dates a lot of guys, you know? But of course, I have a feeling that _anyone_ would want to date you, handsome." Cindy winked at him, for real this time instead of just saying it... Ugh.

Jareth glared at her. "_That _is none of your concern, and it certainly doesn't mean you have to attempt to _test_ me out yourself, now does it?" He was starting to sound rather cold-hearted. Were Cindy _not _apparently a friend of Sarah and were they _not_ in a place that was decently populated, he could guarantee that the blond would not be _nearly_ as joyfully oblivious to his disinterest as she was at the present.

Cindy pouted slightly, batting her eyes innocently. Jareth cringed. Did this girl _ever_ give up!? "I wasn't going to do anything naughty, honest!"

"Yes, well, I'd rather not give you the chance… I have absolutely no interest in women who seem to appear to exhibit no sense of morals…" he stated coldly, "So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to continue searching for my friend now." Jareth turned around sharply, starting to walk in the opposite direction. When it became apparent that Cindy wasn't following, and must have given up, at least for the time being, he relaxed… just a little.

As he continued to search for Kayla, now that he had managed to slip away from the distraction, he pondered on girls like Cindy. Just what was it that caused them to lose their morals so completely? It was actually quite irritating, when he thought up the several reasons. It was probably the parents fault; almost every good or bad principle could be directed at how the parents treated their children. They were supposed to be the role models, and yet so many of them failed to act as one properly. It was actually a good thing that many of the children he had to take in as goblins were the ones that were treated poorly; it was one of the few things he liked about his job. In all honesty, being turned into a goblin was often better then being rescued.

Jareth found that had wandered into the children's section of the library, where Kayla and he had found _Through the Looking _Glass during his last visit. The shelves were multitudes of colours; probably just as many, if not a little less, then the books were. It reminded him of the kind of thing his goblins had once done to his castle when he had left for a day – They had covered every inch several of the inner walls with different layers of fruit...

"'Good day,' said the Scarecrow, in a rather husky voice."

Jareth perked up as a voice started to come into hearing range. He continued down the isle he had started to progress down, wondering why no one was shhhhh-ing them for talking so loud.

"'Did you speak?' asked the girl, in wonder." Whoever it was, they were changing their voices for the different characters, sort of like what his mother used to do when he was younger.

"'Certainly,' answered the Scarecrow. 'how do you do?'" He paused for a moment to think… Now that he could hear the voice better he could also tell that it most definitely belonged to Sarah. Did he _really_ want to deal with her again…? So soon…? She could jump to conclusions again, or perhaps _somehow _manage to find an even more hateful rant to say to him; it would be chaos… But then, it would be unwise to _not_ look in the children's section for Kayla… If she was anywhere in the library, this was the most likely location…

"'I'm pretty well, thank you,' replied Dorothy politely. 'How do you do?'"

…well... a proper goblin _would_ go for the chaos…

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A/N: Yes, Cindy is important to the storyline. I'm only creating characters who would have some semblace of importance in moving the plot, because the movie gave us very little in the way of humans other then Sarah and little bits of her family. Don't worry about that, if you were at all.


	5. Chapter Four: Moving on with Our Lives

A/N: I still don't own anything here except the storyline.

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Chapter Four: Moving On With Our Lives

Jareth continued to the end of the isle, entering into a large opening where several children and a few parents were seated around Sarah, sitting on a chair as she read enthusiastically from a book.

"'I'm not feeling well,' said the Scarecrow, with a smile, 'for it is very tedious being perched up here night and day to scare away crows.'"

Sarah was telling the story very well, making gestures with her free arm and vividly telling the story so that every child in the premises was fixated on her. Jareth couldn't help but smile fondly at her, at least for a moment; from what little he could gather, this was something that she must have done on a regular basis. It explained why Kayla and Sarah knew each other as well as they did, and it also partially explained why Sarah would have taken to job in the first place.

"'Can't you get down?' asked Dorothy."

Memories of a park where he and the girl used to frequent a long ago started to surface for probably the first time in years, back when Sarah would spend every day she could spare playing out her favorite stories. Jareth had to hand it to her; the job suited her as well as gloves suited him.

"'No, for this pole is stuck in my back. If you will please take away the pole I shall be greatly obliged to you.'"

Jareth looked around again and noticed Kayla somewhat on her own in the back, probably so that she could move in her wheelchair if she had the need.

"Dorothy reached up both arms and lifted the figure off the pole, for, being stuffed with straw, it was quite light…"

Jareth took an empty seat that was next to Kayla and tapped the girl's arm, snapping Kayla's attention away from the story. She looked at him, eyes lighting up the moment she recognized him. Sarah continued to read from whatever story it was that she was reading from, completely oblivious to everything else that was going on around him. It was a pity he had no time for books, otherwise, based on the attention all the children were giving her, he probably would have enjoyed reading it himself.

Kayla waved at him, smiling widely and probably trying to be quiet as Sarah read. He nodded in her direction. The girl put a finger to her mouth and pointed to Sarah again; she must have wanted to continue to listen for a moment or two… Jareth really didn't want to stay long enough for Sarah to notice him, chose to oblige the girl. If she really wanted to continue to listen to the story, who was he to stop her? As long as Sarah was as fixated with the story as she was now, there would be no problem, except the dull ache in his chest that was reminding him how he wasn't completely over her just yet…

"-you see, I am stuffed, so I have no brains at all,' he answered sadly. 'Oh,' said Dorothy, 'I'm awfully sorry for you.' 'Do you think,' he asked, 'if I go to the Emerald City with you, that Oz would give me some brains?' 'I cannot tell," she returned, 'but you may come with me, if you like. If Oz will not give you any brains you will be no worse off than you are now.'"

Sarah was pulled out of her persona, grinning at the children. "It looks like Dorothy's made a new friend, doesn't it?" Her eyes settled on Jareth, and her wide smile faltered. He couldn't help but feel a bit awkward, but gave her a small wave. She remained silent and just stared. There was no possible way for her to get away with yelling in front of a bunch of children and their parents, but all the same Jareth couldn't help but wonder if she would do so all the same. The Sarah Williams he knew always seemed to be full of surprises as to what stupid thing she wound attempt next; it was one of the few unattractive characteristics that she had, next to, of course, just how much she seemed to enjoy whining.

After a few moments, Sarah averted her eyes to the book and started to read again, but she lost some of the enthusiasm in her voice, making it appear as though the only reason she was reading was to try and forget he was here. It wasn't that unexpected. He probably was the last person she expected, or for that matter wanted, to see. Well, that was as good an excuse as any for him to get out of here… Jareth got Kayla's attention again and nodded toward the exit, indicating that he was leaving. Kayla looked a little disappointed, but inevitably nodded and mouthed that she would come as well.

Jareth pulled himself to his feet and took hold of the wheelchair's handles, helping push the girl out of the open space and into one of the isles of books, heading back to the main area. He didn't bother to glance back. He knew that once Sarah realized he was gone she would probably calm down and start reading as well as she normally did again, and that was fine with him. He didn't need to listen to her stories. He had been looking for Kayla, not her.

-

The book had been returned, and he and Kayla were now sitting across from each other at a table. Kayla had lead him to a sort of 'common room' that was one of the few places in the library that people were allowed to be decently loud.

"-and then the lady refused to give Danny any candy because she thought he was a _real_ goblin and scared her to death!" Kayla exclaimed, with a very serious expression on her face. "She said that he wasn't allowed eat her children and then she told him to be sure to tell whichever one of his friends took her waffle iron to give it back!"

Jareth raised an eyebrow, "It sounds like the old woman's lost her marbles."

Kayla nodded frantically. "She said if he came back again, the goblin, not Danny, then she's set her cat on him!"

Here Jareth chuckled. "I have a feeling the cat would be more frightened of Danny, than Danny, or any other goblin for that matter, would be afraid of it." Kayla giggled.

They had been sitting here for half an hour or so, just discussing things. It reminded Jareth a lot of the things he had learned when they first met, back when she was just another runner who he was trying to help.

Kayla stopped laughing, looking at him with a small grin. "It's too bad Danny couldn't come to the library with me today. He's kinda mad that I saw you again without him, and he likes it when Miss Sarah's the one whose reading."

"What is your brother up to?" Jareth inquired, "I believe that 'baseball' is a summer sport… Halloween just ended for your world, isn't it winter?

"Danny's also in the hockey team. He just really likes sports." Kayla exclaimed. "Daddy drops me off here in the morning, and after his practice is over, I'm going home and then we're going to watch _Aladdin_ on our VHS. Do you want to come?"

Jareth chuckled. "You know as well as I do that it's not very wise for me to leave my goblins for an extended period of time…" Kayla giggled, nodding. "Also, I believe meeting your father would be a wise idea before you invite anyone into your house, don't you agree?"

Kayla sighed, caving in. "Alright, fine, be that way." She huffed, dropping her head onto the table and looking up at him. "You will come visit us again though, right?"

Jareth nodded. "Of course… there are very few humans in the world that are worth my coming here, Kayla. You and your brother are two of them..."

She giggled. "In Danny's case, isn't he more like 'very few _goblins_' you find worth visiting..? He acts like one all the time!"

Jareth laughed.

-

Later that day, after Jareth had helped Kayla choose a book to start reading to her brother later that night, (They both had agreed on _Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_)he escorted her to the door and bid the girl farewell. Once she was out of sight, he turned into the alley where he had once been with her and Sarah, and leaned against the library's wall, heaving a sigh of relief.

As exhilarating as being with Kayla was, that girl could talk as a faster rate then most of his goblins could create chaos. Managing to keep a conversation with her, especially considering how few intelligent beings he usually had around to converse with, was rather tiring. He had decided much earlier that because of the decent weather the world was having for a wintry day, he was going to take the time to actually fly back to the Labyrinth. But first, he would take a few minutes to recollect his thoughts.

It didn't take long to notice that he wasn't the only person there. Jareth turned to look over at Sarah, who was sitting against the same wall as himself, eating some form of a sandwich. She looked up at him skeptically, and he, after much consideration, turned away and faced the opposite wall again. He wasn't going to leave just because it made things a little awkward – not when there was a chance he would have to frequent the library because of the girl. Having some intelligent conversation was worth whatever problems, either on this side or his own, may come up. It was one of the reasons he had been so set on Sarah years ago, and why, though not quite with the same emotions, he wanted to visit the twins now that his mind was less preoccupied with a certain female…

"You seem different." The silence was cut by Sarah, who was looking at him again with confusion. He looked at her tiredly, cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh? And what makes you say that..? "

"I don't know, you just are..." she replied with a slight groan.

"Well that was truly an insight, truly." His voice dripped with sarcasm.

Sarah glared at him. "Well I'm sorry I don't have the words in my vocabulary to properly describe you. If I can't articulate what you were like before, you can hardly expect me to find the words now."

Jareth subconsciously rolled his eyes. She certainly had never had problems finding the right words before… Then again…

"Perhaps it is not I who have changed, but only your perception of me," Jareth's weary frown turned into a lopsided grin, and, out of sheer reflex, he pulled a crystal orb out of nowhere and started to move the sphere against his fingers, perhaps a little less nimbly then he did with some semblance of fabric between him and the object. "Perhaps you are simply not looking at it from the correct angle…"

"No, I'm pretty sure it's you," Sarah said dryly, unfazed by the crystal and any references to the past that it may have dragged up. "If you weren't different we'd be at each other's throats by now…"

"Or rather, you would be at my throat while I tried to explain myself?" Jareth's hand twitched. The glass plummeted to the pavement. It shattered. That was the second crystal Sarah had indirectly broken…

The Goblin King stared at the shards for a few moments before he calmly looked back to the wall. "I believe that in our last encounter you made it quite clear that you had no interest in anything I had to offer you, Miss Williams, " He replied bitterly. "You denied me of my love; that I knew years ago. But you have also denied me of any form of familiarity… And I can't say that I see you as an enemy, so that merely makes you an acquaintance… nothing more."

"So, you're just suddenly going to treat me different because I had a tantrum?" Sarah sounded mildly stunned. He looked over at her again, crossing his arms. He didn't want to deal with this. He glanced at her again, this time looking mildly irritated.

"No, I'm treating you differently because before I never received proper closure for my feelings for you. If you remember, the last time I tried to find out how you were doing, you instead replaced the words you didn't feel like speaking with a bear that couldn't speak… Your little fit of temper said what needed to be spoken, and I've moved on."

Sarah appeared to have long ago forgotten about her sandwich, and was instead eyeing him doubtfully. The last quarter of it was lying on the ground now, probably covered with some of the cigar debris that covered the pavement… so she probably wouldn't eat it now even if she _did_ remember its existence. "And yet you still returned to the library..?"

"It appears you've forgotten that you're not the only human who has my attention here…" Jareth scoffed at her. "Kayla wasn't home and I had to return her book."

"Will you be here again?" Ah Sarah, always direct and to the point, wasn't she?

"Most likely, the girl really does spend a lot of her time here... Almost as much as you did at that old park."

Sarah looked thoughtfully at the wall. Jareth watched her, wondering what she could _possibly_ be thinking of instead of screaming. Where was the screaming? She hadn't begged, or whined, or threatened him in any way. Now that he thought about it, this was probably the most mellow conversation he had ever had with her and he didn't even care anymore… well if that wasn't ironic he didn't know what was.

"Alright, fine…" Sarah was looking at him again. "You can come and visit Kayla if you really need to…" He didn't _need_ her permission; the library was _not_ her personal property. "Just stay out of my way."

"That will be as fine an arrangement as any, Miss Williams."

"It's Sarah." She corrected. Jareth raised an eyebrow at her. Wasn't the point of her being an acquaintance that he didn't go by first name basis?

"Pardon?"

"If you're going to call me anything here, then it's still Sarah… That's what's written on my nametag, so that's what you have to call me _if_ you have to call me anything… otherwise it just makes it more obvious to me that you're nothing more then an… _acquaintance_, as you called it…" Well, he couldn't argue with that logic.

"Well, in that case, you had better call me by _my_ name as well, _if_ you have to call me anything…" He mock repeated her words, ridiculing her. "I doubt many people will think highly of you if they here you calling me by my title… Being a Goblin King isn't exactly a line of work most humans are used to hearing…"

"I can't exactly call you by a name I don't remember."

"It's Jareth, you of all people should learn to remember it."

"Alright then, _Jareth_." He frowned, slightly. The name felt so unfamiliar coming from her, it was like she wasn't even directing it at him. "If I see you again, don't bug me."

"That's fine, _Sarah._ If I see _you _again, don't make presumptions that I'm stalking you…"

"So we're in agreement?"

"We are."

"Well, I've no inclination to shake on it, goodbye _Jareth_." Sarah turned and headed back into the library, without bothering to give Jareth a chance to even respond to her departure. As Jareth had predicted she would, the sandwich continued its life of abandonment.

Well, that was as decent a breather as any… Jareth looked out into the busy human streets for a moment, pondering whether or not Sarah was the least of his worries when it came to returning to the library, considering the rather indecent blonde that also stalked the library halls…

Moments later a barn owl could be seen flying out of the alleyway next to the City Library, and out of view as it ascended into the sky.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed and didn't find any character faults... Reviews are appreciated, and I'll see you next chapter.


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